NORWALK, CA– California Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued a report indicating no criminal charges would be brought against officers involved in the Feb. 17, 2022, shooting of Pedro Morales Lopez here.
“Pursuant to Assembly Bill 1506 (AB 1506),” California Attorney General Rob Bonta has “released a report on the death of Mr. Lopez” and recommendations on increasing accountability with law enforcement practices, according to a statement by the Attorney General.
AG Bonta’s office also contextualized the situation regarding Lopez, explaining there were a total of three “officer-involved shootings” (OIS), all in pursuit of a carjacking and assault suspect, Andre M. Mora.
DOJ said, during the first incident, “Mr. Mora pointed a semiautomatic handgun at a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective (LASD) who fired 10 rounds” back at him.
AG Bonta said the second OIS occurred when another LASD detective “fired nine rounds at Mr. Mora.”
Following this, Mora, reported DOJ, ran into the yard of a private residence and, after an exchange of gunfire, ran inside, where an unrelated civilian—Lopez—who was then in the side yard of the house, was “fatally struck in the back of the head by a single bullet,” as explained by AG Bonta’s statement.
The DOJ investigation that was conducted as a result of state law “concluded that there is insufficient evidence to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the officers involved acted with the intent to defend themselves and others from what each of them reasonably believed to be the imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury.”
However, the investigation from the AG’s office yielded recommendations for future policy changes to minimize accidents, including that all LASD deputies, even plain clothes ones, should be mandated to wear and activate body worn cameras to ensure that all OIS are documented and can be litigated accordingly going forward.
